Chapter 105: The Leader

“How could this be? Have all the nearby zombies gathered here?” Yue Qi glanced at the chaotic scene before him, puzzled. But come to think of it, the pressure he sensed earlier must have been emanating from here...

“I don’t know, but why would they organize an assault on the city? The distance from here to Changzhou City isn’t small, and judging by their behavior, ordinary zombies have no intention of attacking each other. Clearly, they have enough food...” Qin Luo, thinking more thoroughly than Yue Qi, remarked.

“This is all so strange...” Yue Qi frowned. Everything before him was clearly beyond his capabilities. Even if all these zombies were just the most ordinary kind, their sheer numbers alone could overwhelm him through sheer force of numbers...

“Wait!” Qin Luo suddenly had a thought. “What about that one zombie earlier? It went to great lengths to lure us away from Changzhou City. Could it be trying to have the zombies here discover us, so they can devour us?”

“That’s unlikely...” Yue Qi pondered for a moment. “There’s no way the two of us would satisfy so many zombies. There must be some other motive...”

“Then what exactly do they want?!” Qin Luo’s head throbbed with anxiety. So much had already happened, and now seeing so many zombies, fighting wasn’t an option, nor was running. She truly didn’t know what to do...

“What should we do now?” Qin Luo simply asked, pushing all the questions onto Yue Qi...

“I don’t know...” Yue Qi admitted frankly. “The key question now is why they would all march toward Changzhou City together. If there is truly a leader among the zombies, why wouldn’t it go itself instead of sending so many zombies to die?”

“...” Qin Luo, not knowing what else to say, leaned against a tree and remained silent, listening as Yue Qi muttered to himself.

“Do you think it could be because the zombies are so numerous? After all, even among zombies, there’s survival of the fittest. Maybe the stronger zombies eliminate the weaker ones?” Yue Qi continued to muse, lowering his head in thought. Since Xin Zi’s presence had always been a factor before, such matters were usually left to Xin Zi. Now alone, Yue Qi seemed to have taken on a bit of Xin Zi’s demeanor...

“That’s impossible! If they started killing each other, wouldn’t that create even stronger mutated zombies? Why would they then march to Changzhou City just to die?!” Qin Luo shot Yue Qi a disdainful look.

“True enough. After all, mutated zombies are far stronger than ordinary ones. If the zombies here all fought each other and turned into mutated zombies, Changzhou City wouldn’t stand a chance...” Yue Qi furrowed his brow and continued his quiet self-talk after hearing Qin Luo’s words.

The moon still hid behind the clouds, showing no sign of emerging. Everything around was pitch black, barely revealing the countless zombies packed tightly within the large pit. The number was impossible to count. Occasionally, the low growls of zombies echoed, making Qin Luo feel like a lone lamb among wolves, constantly at risk of being torn apart...

“There must be cultivator zombies among them...” Qin Luo, noticing Yue Qi’s silence and feeling a growing unease alone in the dark, tried to start a conversation.

“Of course...” Yue Qi answered without hesitation. “But their numbers shouldn’t be many. Judging from the clothes on them, most seem to be disciples who have descended the mountain for experience, probably capped at Foundation Establishment or Qi Harmonization stages. I don’t think there are any zombies at the Nascent Soul stage here...”

“That’s right. If Nascent Soul zombies were sent to attack the city, even the two of us wouldn’t stand a chance. That little formation we use would be easily destroyed by a Nascent Soul cultivator’s spell...” Qin Luo casually added.

“Nascent Soul zombies...” Yue Qi muttered again, then his eyes suddenly brightened. “If there really is a leader among these zombies, then given its intelligence, what would be the most important thing for it to do?”

“Obviously, find food!” Qin Luo’s eyes sparkled at the thought of food, looking at Yue Qi as if expecting him to conjure up a delicious meal...

“No!” Yue Qi suddenly looked at Qin Luo with excitement, startling her into thinking he was about to do something inappropriate.

“If there really is such a leader zombie, it would surely want to consolidate its position!” Yue Qi, fully alert, continued, “Qin Luo, if you were that zombie leader, what would you do?”

“Why would I ever be that thing?! Are you cursing me?!” Qin Luo retorted in displeasure, then shifted her tone. “But if I really were that leader zombie, I’d definitely find a way to deal with any zombies threatening my position...”

At this, Qin Luo seemed to realize something. “Yes! That explains everything! If the zombies here all became mutated or stronger, the leader’s position would surely be threatened. It definitely wouldn’t want that to happen!”

“Exactly!” Yue Qi gave Qin Luo a satisfied look. That was precisely what he had wanted to say. If the zombie leader simply wanted to solidify its rule, then everything could make sense!

“But it’s just speculation. We can’t be sure if there really is a zombie leader here...” Yue Qi was still caught up in his excitement, but Qin Luo suddenly doused his enthusiasm with a cold splash of reality.

“That’s true...” Yue Qi scratched the back of his head. “But it’s probably close to the truth...”

As Yue Qi spoke, he seemed to remember something. “By the way, didn’t both of us sense an unusual pressure earlier? It’s quite obvious now. Do you think it might be caused by that leader-level zombie?”

Yue Qi’s reasoning was sound. Despite the sheer number of zombies here, he believed that if he wanted to escape, the zombies themselves posed no real threat. No matter how many there were, they couldn’t exert that kind of pressure on him. The only possible source was the presence of that leader zombie!

“That’s possible. But even if there is a leader-level zombie, do you actually want to try to draw it out?” Qin Luo didn’t give Yue Qi any face and asked bluntly.

“Why not?” Yue Qi suddenly smiled. “Our mental energy radiates out, and even if the zombies below sense it, they can’t figure out the direction. But that leader zombie would be different — it would definitely sense our mental energy and be able to guess our location!”

“Are you sure about this? If such a zombie wanted to kill us, wouldn’t it be easy as pie?” Qin Luo eyed Yue Qi suspiciously.

“What’s there to be afraid of? At worst, we run!” Yue Qi was confident in his ability to escape. As he spoke, he began to extend his mental energy, attempting to probe the zombie horde...

“Hey...” Seeing Yue Qi’s actions, Qin Luo wanted to stop him but it was too late. She could only silently allow his reckless move...

Deep within the zombie pit, at its very center, there were no zombies to be seen. Instead, a massive egg sat there.

Suddenly, the surface of the giant egg began to crack inch by inch. From the deepest part of the shell emerged a pair of blood-red eyes, like two ghostly lanterns glowing in the darkness...

“This... this is the aura of a cultivator... No, wait, some say certain people can also have this kind of aura...” A strange voice echoed from within the eggshell. If one listened carefully, it carried a profound allure...

“Bang!” Suddenly, the entire eggshell shattered. A bare-skinned man with snow-white skin burst out from within. His body was still covered in glistening slime, but then a small water orb appeared in his hand. The orb poured clear water from his head downwards, washing away all the slime from his body.

“This body... feels so strong...” The man clenched his fist and muttered to himself, “Two humans woke me up. I should go take a look...” Saying this, he leapt sharply into the night sky and vanished.

“How’s it going? Any discoveries?” Qin Luo, growing impatient after watching Yue Qi’s movements for some time, asked.

“Seems like there’s nothing...” Yue Qi abruptly stopped and looked at Qin Luo awkwardly.

“Told you, if the zombie leader’s mental power is stronger than yours, it can completely block your perception...” Qin Luo rolled her eyes at Yue Qi, annoyed.

“Alright, then let’s head back to avoid unnecessary trouble...” Since there was nothing to find, Yue Qi decided it was better to return to Changzhou City.

“Howl!” But just then, all the zombies in the pit suddenly howled in unison. Their tone was tinged with fear and even a hint of submission!

“What’s happening?! Have we been discovered?!” Qin Luo was startled. The zombies’ reaction caused the ground to tremble slightly, like the prelude to an earthquake!

“I don’t know! Let’s go!” Without time to think, Yue Qi grabbed Qin Luo and hurried away!

For some reason, the moon suddenly emerged from behind the clouds, and the surrounding mist began to dissipate at that moment... Yue Qi glanced back—and what he saw made his heart skip a beat. A naked man floated in the air, a faint smile playing on his lips as he watched them...

“What is that? A human?” Yue Qi’s heart jolted. But seeing the blood-red in the man’s eyes instantly snapped him awake.

“No! It’s a zombie!” Realizing this, Yue Qi quickened his pace, running toward the distance...

“Why run... I’m not going to eat you...” The eerie man suddenly lowered his head and stammered, then licked his lips, “But then again, maybe I will...”

Watching Yue Qi and Qin Luo disappear, the strange man showed no intention of pursuing them. Instead, he looked down upon all his minions below...

“My children!” When the man spoke, the entire zombie horde fell silent. Then he murmured softly, “Today, I will take you all for a good, hearty feast...”

“Howl!!!” Suddenly, the entire zombie pit erupted in wild excitement!

***

It seems there’s another round of censorship sweeping through, and many authors’ works have been taken down. I looked back through my writings and didn’t find much that would cause trouble, and I’ve even revised the few borderline parts. After all, online novels are meant to be enjoyable, and a lot of things are part of that fun—though that’s just my personal view. Hopefully, this storm will pass soon; so many good books have been banned...